Install PacedMind

PacedMind installs for the current user. It needs no administrator rights on Windows, and on macOS it goes into the Applications folder like any other app.

Before installing

• Windows: Windows 10 or Windows 11.
• macOS: macOS 13 Ventura or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.

Claude Code, Codex and a terminal app aren't needed for the installation. They matter once PacedMind starts agent sessions; see Agent sessions.

Install on Windows

1. Download the installer, PacedMind-Windows.exe, from pacedmind.com/download/windows.
2. Run it. The installer isn't signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may show Windows protected your PC: select More info, then Run anyway.

The installer installs PacedMind to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Organizer, adds PacedMind to the Start Menu and to the desktop, and starts it. Its data folder is %APPDATA%\Organizer (for example C:\Users\Anna\AppData\Roaming\Organizer). The first start creates an empty database with five default areas. See First launch.

Install on macOS

1. Download the disk image, PacedMind-macOS.dmg, from pacedmind.com/download/mac.
2. Open it, and drag PacedMind onto the Applications folder beside it.
3. Open PacedMind from Applications, Launchpad or Spotlight. The first time, macOS asks whether to open an app downloaded from the internet: select Open.

The app is signed, and notarized by Apple. Its data folder is ~/Library/Application Support/Organizer. The first start creates an empty database with five default areas. See First launch.

Why some names say Organizer

Organizer is PacedMind's earlier name. The data folder keeps that name, and on Windows so do the installation folder and the executable (Organizer.exe), so updates keep the existing data. The MCP server is called pacedmind now; agents connected under its earlier name, organizer, keep working until Connect in Settings → MCP server renames their entry. Windows shows the app, its shortcuts and its notifications as PacedMind; the Details tab of Task Manager lists its processes as Organizer.exe. On macOS the app itself is called PacedMind.

Update

Download the installer or the disk image again, and install it the same way. The data stays as it is, including the MCP access token, so connected agents keep working.

• Windows: run the new PacedMind-Windows.exe. If PacedMind is running, the installer asks to close it first.
• macOS: quit PacedMind (its menu bar icon → Quit PacedMind, or ⌘+Q), drag the new PacedMind onto Applications, and select Replace.

Uninstall

Windows

1. In Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps (Apps & features on Windows 10), select Uninstall for PacedMind. This removes the app, its shortcuts and the Start with Windows entry.
2. To delete the data as well, delete the folder %APPDATA%\Organizer. This removes every area, project, task, activity and session record, and can't be undone.

macOS

1. If Open at Login is checked in the menu bar icon's menu, uncheck it. Then quit PacedMind.
2. Drag PacedMind from Applications to the Bin.
3. To delete the data as well, delete the folder ~/Library/Application Support/Organizer (in Finder, Go → Go to Folder…). This removes every area, project, task, activity and session record, and can't be undone.

Agent connections

If Claude Code or Codex were connected to PacedMind, remove those connections too:

• Claude Code: claude mcp remove pacedmind (add --scope user if it was added for all projects), or claude mcp remove organizer for a connection under the earlier name.
• Codex: delete the [mcp_servers.pacedmind] section, or [mcp_servers.organizer] under the earlier name, from ~/.codex/config.toml.
• Agent skills installed from the source code: npm run skills -- --remove in the source folder. See Agent skills.

Build from the source code

PacedMind's source code is on GitHub, under the GNU Affero General Public License. With a copy of it and Node.js 22.13 or later, one command builds the desktop app and installs it for the current user:

git clone https://github.com/Pacedmind/pacedmind.git
cd pacedmind
npm install
npm run desktop

npm run desktop takes a few minutes. It builds the app and packages it with Electron, closes PacedMind if it's running from an earlier installation, installs it and starts it:

• on Windows, to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Organizer, the installer's folder, with the same shortcuts;
• on macOS, as ~/Applications/PacedMind.app, the Applications folder in the home folder.

Run it again after updating the code: it replaces the running app and keeps the data.

If the running app can't be closed, the command stops with Organizer is still running. Quit it from the tray icon and run this again. on Windows, or PacedMind is still running. Quit it from its menu bar icon and run this again. on macOS. Quit PacedMind and run npm run desktop again.

Troubleshooting

• The build fails on an older Node.js: check the version with node --version. PacedMind needs 22.13 or later, which runs its database module without extra flags. npm install only warns about an older version; npm run desktop then fails.
• Windows: PacedMind was installed or started from a terminal inside the Claude or Codex desktop app, and its data or icon looks wrong: those apps keep a separate copy of AppData for the programs they start. Open PacedMind from the Start Menu instead. See Troubleshooting.

More problems and their solutions are on the Troubleshooting page.